Scorpio

Scorpio the scorpion kills Orion. Across all variations of the myth, this is the constant. The motives behind sending the scorpion vary from Artemis putting the hunter’s hubris in check after boasting that he is a better hunter than her, to Apollo’s jealousy of the bond between Artemis and Orion. Regardless of the reason, the scorpion carries out its task to battle with and destroy the hunter. Scorpio’s determination is also evident in the story of the constellations of Orion and Scorpius – Orion hunts in the sky in the winter, but with the arrival of summer the scorpion chases him away. Perhaps placing these constellations in the sky is a warning against bragging, perhaps this is recognition of the battle. Like the various myths, though, this depends on your point of view.

Of her play about Scorpio, Seanan Palmero writes: His celestial chase comes to earth as Scorpio, a short order cook having mastered the art of food poisoning, turns amateur bounty hunter on a trek through the desert after Orion. Antares, Scorpio’s new aged smart phone, redirects Scorpio to Phoenix, Arizona hoping the destination corresponds to the highest expression of his astrological sign, and ends his constant pursuit. In this short comedy, Scorpio’s determination to get his man pushes his heart, as Antares is sometimes called, to the edge – too bad they’re in a zone of questionable cell coverage, and yes, Scorpio might be dehydrated and simply hallucinating … or is Antares tired of being the second star in the sky to Orion’s Betelgeuse and plotting to do something about it?

SCORPIO by Seanan Palmero
staged reading October 7, 2011

Directed by Claire Rice

Kirsten Broadbear (Antares)

Benji Cooper (Stage Directions)

John Lennon Harrison (Scorpio)

Seanan Palmero is delighted to participate as a writer and director in this Olympians Festival. She is also Director of Development for AtmosTheatre, Production Manager and Technical Director for San Francisco Theater Pub, and serves on the literary committees of the Cutting Ball Theater and the Magic Theatre. She also works as a dramaturg and stage manager for No Nude Men Productions.

About The Artist
Chelsea Harper is born a storyteller and an artist. Dabbling in all manners of storytelling including acting, singing, drawing and writing, Chelsea has engrossed herself and become a Jack of all trades, but has since narrowed down her scope of interest to art and writing in hopes of honing those skills instead of spreading herself thin. She has taught herself to draw in her childhood but has since started taking classes at the Junior College, which has helped her focus in and expand her skills. She has also been an avid writer since childhood and, following thus, she has become an avid and dedicated participant in National Novel Writing Month and Script Frenzy, which is a challenge once a year to write more than fifty thousand words or a hundred pages respectively in the span of thirty days. She has won each challenge since 2006. To this day, she is working on her own novel which she hopes to one day soon publish as well as her own made from scratch pop up book. Within the year, she hopes to transfer to the Academy of Art where she’ll finally be able to stretch and learn more about art and storytelling after having been stunted by her stay at the JC. Afterwards, she will hopefully make her way to Pixar, the storytelling behemoth that she’s dreamed about joining since she was eleven, and make a niche for herself in the story department. For now, she’s working hard on collecting scholarships and finishing her personal projects.ethereel on deviantARTEthereel | National Novel Writing Month